“Someone chewed our money” — the Malawi school frozen mid-construction for years

Fifteen kilometres east of Mitundu Trading Centre, in GVH Pundu under Senior Chief Chadza, stands a primary school that exists only on paper.

Four classroom blocks rise to window height and stop. A nursery school lies in ruins. Five toilets sit half-finished. The land is cleared, the woodlot intact — everything except the one thing the project was meant to provide: an education for local children.

What was promised

Kadedwa Full Primary School meets every specification required of a government primary school, according to official standards. In practice, it has never opened. Children in the area walk long distances to Nsabwe for lessons instead.

What residents say

Villagers interviewed by this publication were unanimous in their explanation for the school’s condition. “Someone chewed our money,” was a phrase repeated by multiple residents, who said funds allocated for construction were diverted years ago, leaving the buildings frozen mid-construction.

Asked who might explain the school’s history, community members consistently pointed to Binton Kutsaira, the local Member of Parliament, citing his long tenure in office.

A building for elections, not education

Residents allege the unfinished structures are used by the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) as a polling centre during elections — the only time, they say, the site serves any public function.

This publication’s inspection of the toilet block appeared to support that account: of five toilets, only one had a functioning concrete slab. Community members said that toilet had been specifically rehabilitated ahead of the last election, to accommodate MEC officials on polling day.

No response from MP

This publication sent written questions to Binton Kutsaira regarding the state of the school and his knowledge of the funding shortfall. No response had been received by the time of publication.

The unanswered questions

Kadedwa’s half-built classrooms raise questions that remain unresolved: where the original construction funds went, who authorised their disbursement, and why years of apparent inaction have gone unchecked. Until those questions are answered, the school remains, in the words of residents, a structure that exists in brick but not in purpose.